Working in a common landscape to create synergies in the use of ecosystem services

Published: 21 October 2019
Last edited: 22 June 2021

Sharing a same ecological and productive landscape has been pivotal for the development of COBIJA´s leadership in the region, since a common landscape stands for the development of common goals within the Coalition. Having started with the shared struggle against phyto-diseases (e.g. "coffee rust") in the coffee plantations of the Jamapa-Antigua region, the Coalition is still working with small coffee producers, along with beekepers and honey producers. Support goes to the sustainable use of the surrounding ecosystems,  including water and land management at the local and landscape levels, to maintain the provision of ecosystem services and the productive activities related to them.

By working for a common landscape, the grassroots organizations have been able to focus their efforts, to share their experiences, and to gain access to more funding to solve the various social and environmental issues in the region.

Classifications

Category
Alliance and partnership development
Co-management building
Collection of baseline and monitoring data and knowledge
Communication, outreach and awareness building
Education, training and other capacity development activities
Management planning
Sustainable livelihoods
Technical interventions and infrastructure
Scale of implementation
Local
Phase of solution
Implementation
Monitoring

Enabling factors

  • A network of grassroots organizations with sufficient experience so that they can hold a shared vision and leadership in order to mentor local producers and other stakeholders,
  • A shared landscape and territory: all organizations are in the same region and the same watershed;
  • Counting with financial resources and institutional support from a larger project that underpinned the work of the coalition.

Lessons learned

It has been very important to develop a shared identity for the various member organizations: "Coalición COBIJA" has allowed them to have a greater projection before local and federal authorities, as well as to be recognized as an undisputed spokesperson for the interests of the local communities. More recently, the coalition has become an important reference point, advocating local people´s interest at a level of regional decisions and public policies.

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